Films To Inspire Your Style: The Virgin Suicides

Films To Inspire Your Summer Style: The Virgin Suicides

With the news of Sofia Coppola's award for Best Director at Cannes for her new drama The Beguiled (disappointingly, she’s only the second woman to have won the prize in the festival’s history), we’re turning to her back catalogue to revisit her most stylish films.

From the fanciful, pastel-hued Marie Antoinette to the wanderlust-fuelling cult classic Lost in Translation, the director’s work can’t be separated from her aesthetic. Coppola’s cinematography is filled with colour palettes and costume designs that are as memorable as the plots themselves. Of course, Coppola is no stranger to the world of fashion. Marc Jacobs' longstanding muse since their first meeting at a 1992 Perry Ellis show, she was a regular in ‘90s magazines like Seventeen and YM.

Looking back through stills of the director’s best work, we’re here to make the case for (arguably) her most visually stirring film, The Virgin Suicides, as the inspiration behind our summer style. If you’ve not seen the 1999 indie hit, it stars Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett and Kathleen Turner and is based on Jeffrey Eugenides' bestselling novel. Set in 1970s Detroit, the story follows the five Lisbon sisters through the eyes of a group of neighbourhood boys who become enamoured with them. After the suicide of their youngest sister, their strict Catholic parents increase supervision and take the girls out of school, only furthering the boys' infatuation. As the girls become more and more isolated, the dreamlike film spirals into a claustrophobic suburban nightmare.

As well as the soundtrack, featuring Carole King and Al Green, the costumes are one of the highlights of the film. Designer Nancy Steiner chose vintage pieces, from ‘70s stripes and button-down skirts to virginal Catholic prom dresses. With the aesthetic inspiring the likes of Tavi Gevinson and Petra Collins, we’ll be adding stills of Coppola’s film to our Pinterest board, and floating in ethereal and pastel pieces all summer long.

Click through to see our favourite items inspired by The Virgin Suicides.